After the first try, I wanted to increase the bulk ferment and final proofing times to see what the ciabatta dough would look like if I used this for focaccia, as Mr. Hamelman suggests in his “BREAD” book. The result can be seen here.
Bulk fermentation time: three hours. Final proofing: one hour. Since the dough is very wet, some stretch & folds are required to hold it’s shape. I think I did too many of those, since it rose dramatically in the oven, resulting in a bit too high dough for focaccia. You could slice it and put on toppings like a ciabatta!
- Dried and fresh oregano
- Plenty of olive oil creating “holes” with your fingertips
- black olives
- cherry tomatoes
- buffalo mozzarella
- fresh basil leaves
I thought I added too much olives but as it rose that much in the oven (baked at 250°C and lowered after 15 minutes), there was even room for more. I also used italian “00” flour instead of my generic all purpose pastry-ish white flour. This resulted in less chewyness but alas after one or two days it lost it’s light texture again.
This dough was also made using a poolish as a preferement (100% hydratation) with commercial yeast. Next up for adventure issue three: sourdough, finally!